By Johnny Askounis/ info@eurohoops.net
AEK Betsson intends to present a bid for the hosting rights of the Basketball Champions League Final Four.
After the Queen secured the top seed in Group I of the Round of 16 and attached homecourt advantage in a best-of-three series in the Quarterfinals for a ticket to the Final Four, the team press officer George Nikolaou hinted toward AEK hosting the Final Four in Sunel Arena via a post on his personal Facebook account.
The tentative plan depends on the team coached by Dragan Sakota reaching the season-ending tournament of the 2024-25 installment of the Champions League since the host is expected to be one of the four finalists. However, AEK has already initiated negotiations to potentially welcome the Final Four in the capital of Greece.
The storied club previously hosted the Final Four 2018 in OAKA and prevailed in a championship-crowning tournament by defeating AS Monaco in the championship game.
The 2019-20 edition of the top-tier club continental competition of FIBA Europe also concluded in Athens with Hereda San Pablo Burgos overpowering AEK in the championship game of a Final Eight in early October, instead of the usual finale in May due to restrictions stemming from the coronavirus pandemic.
The Final Four 2025 is scheduled for the end of the second week of May. A potential return to Athens would boost AEK with the loyals packing Sunel Arena and supporting their favorite team, rather than games behind closed doors, as in 2020.
In addition to AEK, Iberostar Tenerife won the BCL at home by lifting the trophy at the end of the inaugural 2016-17 season, before a repeat of success in Bilbao, in 2022.
The list of champions extends from Virtus Segafredo Bologna in Antwerp’s Sportpaleis in 2019, to Burgos in Nizhny Novgorod in 2021, Telekom Baskets Bonn in Malaga in 2023, and Unicaja in Belgrade in 2024.